Directed by Shawn Levy, “Free Guy,” released Aug. 13 and is the first great knee-slapping comedy to see in theaters during this lengthy pandemic. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi and Joe Keery, this film beautifully combines humor, eye-catching visuals and great performances. “Free Guy” follows Reynolds as Guy and his day-to-day routine as a non-playable character, or NPC, in the video game “Free City” until he decides it’s time to stop living in the background.
After movie theaters took a hit during the pandemic, in-person film experiences feel quite odd. Walking into the theater and sitting in the cushioned seats for the 7:00 p.m. showing of “Free Guy” felt like a forgotten memory until the laughter and commentary started from those in the theater.
“Free Guy” uses physical humor paired with several one-liners to spice the story up with comedy. Much of the humor in the film comes from Reynold’s playing his clueless character extremely well.
The film relies on a combination of known objects and concepts brought to life by other creators from popular video games or films that randomly take the screen. When these objects or ideas show up in the film, they are placed perfectly to invoke humor in such a way that catches the audience off guard. These specific scenes make one think, “Is that really in this movie?” Many references are made throughout the film, to Captain America, the Hulk and “the snap” in “Avengers: Endgame” were some of the cleverly placed details that made the audience cheer almost as if it were an actual Avengers film. Before, it never seemed possible to see Reynolds defending himself with a lightsaber from the “Star Wars” series, but “Free Guy” delivered just that. Levy delivers “Free Guy” as a film that the younger generation can fully enjoy.
The storyline itself is easy to follow without all the hilarious details. Every scene has its purpose, and the storyline is full of entertainment. For an interesting twist there is romantic build-up throughout the plot and added a sweet side story. One of the more frustrating aspects of the story is the neglect to fully follow through with the romance built up throughout the film, flashbacks from when an audience waited for a kiss between the two main characters of “Pride and Prejudice” and didn’t initially receive one comes to mind.
Every single one of the actors’ performances were on point. Reynolds perfects the clueless and bold main character Guy, while using outgoing mannerisms to tie into the humorous tone of the film. Reynolds is well-known for his ability to make people laugh both on and off screen, and in “Free Guy” he uses his character’s personality to deliver his humor perfectly. Reynolds brings out the inner child in the audience through pop culture references throughout the film. Keery, Comer and Waititi also give performances worth noting, and Channing Tatum’s scene is hands down the funniest in the film. This cast blends well together, and “Free Guy” was an excellent outcome of the team working together brilliantly.
Aimed to a younger audience, “Free Guy” is a film the world needed at a time like this, because it makes us think of fond times before the pandemic. This film is an original idea that explores a new perspective of video games. There were plenty of times when the film had room for error, especially while switching from the video game to real life, but Levy cleverly designed the scenes to give an overall great story.
